The free clinic in Cherry Hill is a generous contribution to the community at large, but it also highlights a health-care policy issue.
Cherry Hill Township would not be on any list of New Jersey towns most in need of medical care providers. Hospital-run and privately owned urgent care centers battle for the same walk-in patients. The phone book has pages of listings for any kind of specialist.
Yet, uncertainty as to the future of national health care was a big factor in the decision of a Cherry Hill mosque to open a free clinic within its floor space. The Gracious Center of Learning and Enrichment Facilities raised $10,000 for equipment at the clinic, which opened Saturday. Although the clinic has limited hours, 15 people sought medical attention there even before its grand opening.
"Health care continues to be at the forefront of concerns for every American," a statement from the mosque said. "With Obamacare at risk of being repealed by a GOP-controlled House and Senate, and rising health care costs, every resident is concerned about whether or not they can afford to get sick."
Charity medicine has long been a staple for impoverished urban populations, and for rural areas where distance, as well as finances, can isolate many from adequate care. But Cherry Hill? In the Trump administration, will free clinics in suburbia become the new normal?
Community services backed by faith-based groups are an important component of America's safety net. They leverage and extend what government provides. Churches run many of the food pantries that fill an emergency gap when food stamps are inadequate or unavailable to a client. There's also a positive underlying message when a non-sectarian public service is offered by a minority religion that too many Americans unjustly regard with disdain or contempt.
"Service to the community is paramount in Islam," said Dr. Jubril Oyeyemi, the clinic's medical director, as if the explanation were somehow more necessary than if the medical facility were operated by Catholic Charities or Jewish Family Services.
Mosque members said fighting intolerance did play into the decision to open the clinic. Cherry Hill was among the sites of recent bomb threats at Jewish community centers -- bomb threats that, incidentally, have not been linked to radical Muslims or any organized terror group. Meanwhile, a proposed mosque in posh Bernards Township ran into almost endless zoning trouble, as did one now open in Voorhees Township that took six years to get approvals.
What is a little disconcerting, however, is that a free clinic among the $450,000 split-levels -- no matter who operates it -- could signal over-reliance on the kindness of strangers that undermines government's obligation to ensure vital health care for all.
If the Affordable Care Act is indeed "repealed and replaced," a "replacement" shouldn't fall disproportionately on religious or other voluntary groups. It's a long-held claim of GOP social-service slashing advocates that private charities will take up the slack. But that's not always true.
Kudos to the Gracious Center of Learning and Enrichment Activities for stepping up. One must respect the vision and generosity that the new clinic embodies. In health care, it fills a need and plays a role. That role, however, should not be as permanent refuge for the tens of thousands locally who might get kicked out, or priced out, of current coverage under ACA repeal schemes.
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